I can't believe that I've made it this far into the story already. I was planning on doing a short recap but realized that it wouldn't be short at all. So, first, let me thank everybody who has shown their support, it means the world to me as reviewers would know! I'm excited to see how you guys will continue taking this story and don't forget to leave a review after the read because it would mean a lot to me! We shall now enter the December arc!
-X-
December 3: Yagami High Class 1-A – 8:00 AM
"My name is Relena Norstein and I am a transfer student from Austria," Relena bowed as she introduced herself to the class. She was beaming brightly and it was obvious that every guy in the room had their eyes trained on her. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance! I hope I'm able to become good friends with all of you!"
Things had changed worldwide ever since Digimon had become common knowledge. For most people, they were fascinated by the creatures and many seemed to treat the DigiDestined like idols. But there were those who were frightened of them and some even went as far as protesting against Digimon, especially in front of the Hypnos building or many of the DATS headquarters internationally. It was chaotic in a completely different case from the Armageddemon one.
At school, things weren't so much better. Granted, most of the younger generations weren't bothered by the existence of Digimon but many students have become spiteful towards Chosen Children. They claimed that the partnered children act like they were better than others.
Ken could hear them whispering about him now. Him being ousted as a Chosen made him even more popular with girls so it only made the guys in the class more jealous and spread nasty rumors. But with Relena joining their class, the rumors might just die down if they all find her endearing and charming.
Relena ended up taking a seat next to Kouichi and she smiled at him. "You're Kouichi, right? I think we met at Hypnos."
Her voice had dropped a couple octaves lower so that no one else could hear. Kouichi was one of the few who was meant to be kept secret. After all, governments of the world would want to take the Legendary Warriors for themselves if they heard about their unique methods of evolution and try to research them. The Tamer bio-merging trio already had trouble fending off people wanting to dissect them and seeing if they had data running in their veins.
"Yeah," Kouichi nodded. "But let's talk more about that during lunch, okay?"
Relena smiled and nodded in response. "Sure! I'd like that!"
Ken could feel the venomous whispers turning to Kouichi now and they didn't even know that he was a DigiDestined. Kristy seemed happy though, just knowing that Relena could make friendly conversation with someone so easily was enough to keep the brunette content.
December 3: Yagami High Class 1-B – 12:15 PM
Rika felt someone grab the sleeve of her uniform and yank her down so that she was suddenly eye level with the puller. As it turned out, it was her twin sister who looked like she had done something illegal and she wanted to tell someone she could trust.
"I won't call the cops," was Rika's immediate response.
"Where in the world did that reply come from?!" Risa said before shaking her head vigorously. "Never mind, I need to talk to you."
Rika took a nearby chair and dragged it over to the opposite side of the desk so that she could sit down. "What is it?"
Rika took note of how her sister had just glanced at the D-Power hanging on her belt which most likely meant that this had something to do with Digimon. Risa was more than shocked when she saw Rika on TV and not because their mother decided to bring her to a runway or something. Rika was being interviewed as a Tamer and asked about what it was like to bio-merge with her partner. Risa was still getting used to all this craziness but according to her, she always sensed something different about her sister.
"It's dad…," Risa finally said.
Rika wasn't expecting this. "What about him?"
"He saw you on TV with Renamon and he said that he wants to talk to you," Risa explained. Rika's eyes widened and she began imagining scenarios when she would see her father again, all of them resulting in some cheesy cliché. "I ended up confessing to him about how we were going to the same school."
"So what?" Rika shrugged. "We both knew that we wouldn't be able to keep the secret for long. I just don't know how mom is going to react to this little reunion. The two of them didn't exactly divorce on very friendly terms."
"I'm not concerned about that!" Risa snapped, surprising her other half. "After only a few days of knowing you and Renamon, I've come to understand how much she means to you. And I tried to explain this concept to dad but he…"
Rika was able to pick off from where Risa dropped off and she didn't like it. "He wants me not to get involved in this 'dangerous game' that I'm playing."
Risa nodded. "I'm sorry… He wants to see you so he can try to talk you out of it."
Rika sighed. She didn't like this sudden turn of events. Not because she was going to have to try to change her father's mind but because she was going to have to go through a second heartwarming speech which was absolutely not her forte.
"Geez, not even mother tried to make me stop being a Tamer," Rika huffed.
"Seriously?" Risa blinked. "Mom didn't think it was a bad idea for you to be going around, fighting deadly monsters?"
Rika laughed a little. "Of course she was worried! But she was raising me so she saw that I was a defiant, annoying, and disobedient child who never showed her mother respect. Because she saw that, she also saw the incredible change in me when Renamon came into my life… How I actually talked to my mother and let her into my personal cage of Rika angst. She saw the change in me and saw that it was an immense impact that I could never let go of. I could never let go of Renamon. Mom saw that and she understood…"
"Wow…," Risa breathed. "If you deliver a speech like that to dad, he might just leave you alone."
"I hope so," Rika laughed with her sister.
Zoey watched the two of them from where she was standing by the windows. She was able to convince her parents to allow her to stay in Japan but she had this strange feeling that she would be leaving the country soon anyway. Not with her mother on a plane to Italy, but through a gate headed for the Digital World. Her fellow Legendary Warrior and classmate felt the same way.
"I'm worried…," Kouji muttered.
"Now that's not unusual," Zoey remarked.
Kouji looked up at her. "I'm serious."
Zoey nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I know. I can feel it too." She crossed her arms and shivered a little. "I went to the Spirit World last night to see if my spirits knew what was happening in the Digital World and while I was in there, I felt something eerie and disturbing."
"The Spirit World is closer to the Digital World than this world is," Kouji sighed. "At least, that's what Lobomon told me."
"You went too?"
"I told you, I'm worried…"
"Yeah… I feel the same way…"
The Warriors weren't the only ones who felt something wrong in the Digital World. Kari has been showing heavy signs of fatigue recently and TK was constantly having to wake her up so she wouldn't get in trouble in class. Not that school was any one of their concerns at the moment.
"You always were more connected to the Digital World in ways the rest of us weren't," TK mumbled.
Kari noticed how some of their classmates were listening in on them. Since the two of them were known to be Chosen, they were pretty much the center of attention all the time. Rika and Nene shared a lot of that too considering one is the daughter of a model and the other is an idol. They were pretty much tabloid worthy.
"It's not just the Digital World," Kari whispered in response. "TK… I've been having nightmares."
TK didn't need much more than that to make a deduction. "The Dark Ocean?"
Kari nodded. "We still have unfinished business in that world. It's been four years but they have yet to attack or do anything to us despite their threats when I left their King at the altar." It was a bad joke but she had made it anyway. "And now… I'm seeing them in my nightmares. I thought it was just because of the fear concerning the Demon Lords but it's been every night!" She also didn't know how to mention that she saw them on her computer screen back when this whole thing started.
"Have you told anyone else about it?" TK asked.
"Yeah, Gatomon, Tai, and Yolei," Kari replied. "I plan on talking to Ken later too."
"Yeah… He might be experiencing the same thing," TK nodded. "Knowing him, he probably doesn't want us worrying about it. But if both of you are seeing the Dark Ocean in your sleep, then that warrants the rest of us to keep you guys under surveillance."
Kari smiled softly, grateful to have such wonderful friends. "Thank you… But just so you know, neither you nor Davis are allowed to be the ones surveying me."
TK smiled in response, glad to know that her sense of humor wasn't hiding away because of her fears. "No problem, Yolei will probably hit us with a paper fan like the straight man does in anime. There's no way she'd let us do something perverted like that."
"Bless her heart," Kari giggled.
Nene sighed heavily, a little disappointed that her form asking to have bodyguards was tossed aside by the principal. Now that she was ousted for being a Hunter despite the fact that no one could remember how she contributed to saving the world, the guys in the classroom were more than interested to get to know her. Zenjirou tried to enlist himself as her personal bodyguard but he was in a different class so she had to depend on someone else.
"Beelzemon…," Nene finally said. "I think you're making everyone uncomfortable."
Her partner glanced over to her. He was standing over her like a Shinigami, threatening death to anyone who tried to get close to the idol. "Eh? But Mervamon told me to protect you from the 'hyenas' known as your male classmates."
Mervamon tried to be Nene's bodyguard as well but her snake arm made the teacher pass out so she thought that Beelzemon would be a little less intimidating. But the cannon arm, third eye, and dark clothes didn't really make him any less terrifying.
Jeri poked one of Beelzemon's wings. "You're the same Digimon according to my D-Power, but you look so different from the Beelzemon that I know. I wonder why that is…"
Kiriha cleared his throat to get their attention. "I think it has something to do with the Digital Worlds they're from. This Beelzemon came from the chunk of land mass that had broken off from the original Digital World. Time moves much faster on that world so they probably advanced much more compared to the Beelzemon from the Digital World that you're familiar with."
"Come to think of it…," Kenta mused. "Our Digital World runs on the same time as the human world so I guess it makes sense why our Beelzemon doesn't look nearly as advanced as yours." He glanced over to the girls that were obsessing over how cute his own partner was. "Um… Can I have MarineAngemon back now?"
"Never!" the girls hissed liked Medusa's snakes.
"Can you please go back into the X-Loader?" Nene begged Beelzemon.
"I won't be able to protect you from in there," Beelzemon replied.
Kiriha sighed. "I'll protect her if it makes you feel any better. But first…" He walked over to the girls who had taken MarineAngemon captive, said something to them, they froze up and he placed the small Mega in Kenta's hands.
"What did you say to them?" Jeri asked.
"I just told them about my connections with yakuza groups and my ability to get rid of them without anyone finding their bodies ever again," Kiriha answered.
They all just stared at him blankly before Jeri found a response. "You and Kouji could create a miniature yakuza group…"
"You got the job!" Mervamon called out from within Nene's pink X-Loader.
December 3: Yagami High Class 1-C – 12:15 PM
Keenan was being assaulted by questions from every direction after doing a rather expository interview the previous night. Somehow, it had gotten out that he was raised in the Digital World for the first two-thirds of his life and now everyone wanted to know more. They wanted to know if he was like a feral child or if things were primitive in the Digital World.
"Well, they didn't have things like cars and such but I wouldn't call the Digital World primitive," Keenan struggled.
Taiki and Takato watched from the sidelines, both of them feeling rather grateful that they weren't in his position. Though the two of them still received many questions as well, mostly about what it was like to be a DigiDestined. It wasn't exactly something that either of them could explain in words though.
"Taiki, Takato!" Yutaka suddenly called out to them.
They both looked over to him. They glanced at each other; they knew that he was Tommy's brother and that he knew the secret concerning the Legendary Warriors but they weren't sure what he wanted from them. But they decided that it was better than leaving him hanging.
"What is it?" Takato asked.
"I want you guys to promise me something…," Yutaka muttered. He seemed embarrassed by what he was about to ask.
He didn't have to since Taiki was able to figure it out. "You want us to make sure that Tommy is protected at all times, right?"
"Um… Yeah," Yutaka nodded. "I mean, I know that he's capable of protecting himself and that the other Warriors would never let him down but I just want to make sure. I heard that you two are really strong so I figured that I could trust you…"
"We would've protected Tommy even without you asking us," Takato laughed. "I mean, neither of us can understand what it's like to have siblings but we both know what it's like to protect someone important to us. We would never let anyone get hurt."
"Thanks," Yutaka smiled.
"There's really no need for thanks," Taiki chuckled before remembering something. "Though… I do think you still have something to say to Takuya. I heard about it from Tommy… Have you done it yet?"
Yutaka sighed. "No… I haven't… Well, I guess there's no time like the present." He got up and walked out of the classroom.
"What does he have to do?" Takato questioned.
December 3: Yagami High Class 1-D – 12:15 PM
Zenjirou felt rather disappointed. People were aware that he was a Hunter and that he was involved in the Armageddemon fight but it seemed that unless you were Nene, you weren't really questioned all that much. He quickly snapped himself out of it as he reminded himself that being a Hunter did not mean fame and glory. It only meant defending the multiverse dutifully and protecting the weak and innocent from evil and injustice.
"You look like you're going through your own little episode over there," Takuya laughed. "One second, you're sulking and depressed that no one is walking over to you to ask about being a Hunter. The next, you're having a monologue about what it truly means to be a DigiDestined."
"Oh shoot!" Zenjirou yelped. "I thought that was an inner monologue!"
Takuya laughed even harder. "That makes it even funnier!"
Zenjirou muttered something and buried his blushing face in his arms which was Takuya's cue to stop laughing. "God, I'm so embarrassed."
"Oh, come on man," Takuya grinned. "Don't beat yourself up over it, buddy. No one even noticed it."
Zenjirou pulled his face out of arms to show that he was crying now. "You mean I really am invisible?!"
"Wrong choice of words…," Takuya muttered to himself before clearing his throat. "Well, you know… Being a DigiDestined doesn't mean fame and glory. Nene, Taiki, Akari, and Kiriha, none of them feel like they deserve an award for anything they've done. So what makes you think that you do? You have a job to protect the human world and Digital World but you're going to let a lack of popularity get you down? You should be ashamed!"
Zenjirou was suddenly back on his feet. "You're right, Takuya! I don't know what I was doing before! I must look to the future rather than wallow in self-pity!"
"Somebody bounces back fast," Takuya mumbled. He paused when he noticed Yutaka standing at the doorway.
Yutaka made eye contact with the Warrior of Flame and immediately turned around and tried to half-run down the hall, back to his classroom. Takuya was much faster though and he rushed out of his room and caught up with Yutaka who ended up speeding up and they were now two rockets going through the halls. By the time they exhausted themselves, they had found a spot at the vending machine at the end of the hall where they could talk in private.
"This is kidnapping…," was the first thing Yutaka said to Takuya.
Takuya almost did a spit take with his green tea. "When I caught you, you said that you needed to talk to me! Why in the world would you practically run away if you wanted to talk to me? And how is this remotely close to kidnapping if you agreed on this spot?"
"Okay, I get it!" Yutaka snapped.
The two of them settled down and Takuya kept his eyes on Yutaka who was now blushing madly, clearly embarrassed by what he was trying to convey. Takuya always jumped to conclusions when so many scenarios hopped into his head.
"This isn't a romantic confession, is it?" Takuya inquired.
Yutaka took two seconds to let that sink into his head. The redness on his face vanished and he looked up at the other teenager with a blank expression. "Eh?"
Takuya had visibly taken a few steps away from the other. "Because if it is, I'm telling you now that I'm not–."
"This isn't a confession!" Yutaka shouted.
The two of them noticed how they had drawn some attention to them but they were easily ignored, thankfully. They did take a few moments though, to make sure that no one had suddenly decided to eavesdrop on their conversation like a fan girl or something.
"I wanted to apologize to you for my rude behavior," Yutaka finally said.
Takuya seemed surprised by this sudden statement. "…You don't have to. You had every right to hate me. I mean…" He opened his palm and a tiny flame appeared in the center of it. "I nearly killed your little brother with my recklessness and stupidity. And that wasn't even the first time. In the Digital World, I've put him in more danger than I can count. I think he saved me more times than I saved him…"
"Yeah, he told me about how you went berserk when you found your beast spirit," Yutaka chuckled.
"Is nothing sacred?" Takuya huffed before they both ended up laughing. "But seriously… I don't blame you for hating me. I hate myself sometimes…"
"Don't say that or I'm going to have to tell Tommy and we're going to have to set up some sort of intervention for you," Yutaka grinned. "It's a good thing you have a lot of friends. That's a lot of people to point out your good traits."
"And my bad ones," Takuya pointed out.
"How did you know my next words?" Yutaka gasped dramatically.
The two of them looked to each other again and laughed. Before they could continue anything else though, they both noticed someone standing nearby and they turned to see Akari staring at them.
"Akari?" they both said.
Akari grinned. "So… I'm guessing confessing went well and you two are now lovers?"
Both guys ended up sputtering and stammering, trying to clarify what had actually transgressed between them while the girl just laughed at their expense. Still, Takuya felt a little better knowing that Yutaka was no longer his enemy. Now, if only he could say the same about the Demon Lords causing havoc in the Digital World. He hadn't talked about it with the other Warriors yet but he knew that they felt it too. He just hoped that Bokomon and Neemon were able to find a safe place to hide for the time being, at least.
December 3: Yagami High Class 1-E – 12:15 PM
Kazu was surprised; he had never imagined that Davis could ever look so serious and intense before. He wondered what had gotten into the formerly fun and outgoing DigiDestined when he realized that even Takato had put on that expression before. It meant that something was happening in the Digital World, something really bad.
"Yamaki and the others at Hypnos are working really hard on the Digi-Gate," said Kazu, feeling the need to remind Davis of it.
Davis blinked; he had been caught off guard by the sudden statement. He smiled at the Tamer's concern. "Yeah, I know but I can't stop worrying about it," Davis confessed. "Tai and I talked about it and we both know that we have to stop the Demon Lords as soon as possible. With every minute we spend here, they're taking over more and more of the Digital World. Soon enough, there won't be a Digital World to save."
Five years ago, Kazu had felt like he was on the sidelines during the entire battle with the D-Reaper. He had felt completely useless when Suzie came through by fighting with Antylamon and even Kenta was able to get everyone to safety in the end. Kazu didn't want that to happen again, not this time around.
"You've got a lot more friends to aid you in this battle, you know," Kazu reminded him. "I mean, I'm not very strong but I will give it my all no matter what."
Davis smiled. "You remind me a lot of myself actually. Reckless, outgoing, and always looking for trouble, but you're mature enough to know when you need to man up and do things the right way. I know I'll be able to count on you when the time comes. And I'm sure the other Tamers know that too."
"Rika probably doesn't," Kazu scoffed. "She probably thinks I'm a joke of a Tamer."
"Rika reminds me a lot of Yolei, actually. She says that, but I don't think she means it," Davis shrugged.
"No, I think she means it," Kazu chuckled humorlessly. "But thanks… I really will give it my all."
"I know you will."
December 3: Yagami High Class 2-B – 12:15 PM
Ryo's connections in show biz allowed him to talk his way past many reporters and have them glorify Digimon a little bit and make them seem much less of a public menace. He also tried to use a little of a morose back story to appeal to the people and make them understand what Digimon means to him and his friends. It worked for the most part, increasing the number of fan girls he had at school by at least three times.
Even Yolei had fallen for it and she was fawning over him now.
"Geez, human girls are absolutely terrifying," Beetlemon muttered.
JP was sitting in the back of the room for lunch so that no one would notice him talking to his partner. "Yeah, they really can be. Zoey is a pretty good indicator of that but not all of them gush over Ryo. Most of the other girls in the DigiDestined aren't that mindless."
"I don't even get how Yolei fell for it," Beetlemon scoffed. "I mean, the back story is probably fabricated."
JP paused and looked at Ryo, thinking about the story that he had supposedly 'made up'. He talked about how his father wouldn't ever be proud of him for anything and he was expecting his son to do things for the family business that he just didn't want to be involved in.
"Actually… I don't think that it's fake," JP sighed as he leaned back in his seat.
"What makes you say that?" his spirit asked.
"Akamiya is a generally common name in Japan but… there's also an infamous yakuza group by that name too," JP explained. "In other words, it's possible that Ryo was once part of a mafia group that got involved in some dangerous and possible illegal stuff. Ryo disappointing his father probably isn't too much of a stretch."
Yolei was suddenly in front of the Legendary Warrior, causing him to flinch involuntarily and bang his knee on his desk. He swore as he began rubbing his bruised joint.
"Sorry! Did I surprise you?" she asked.
"What do you think?" he groaned. "What is it, Yolei? Did Ryo ask you to leave since you can touch him later?"
Yolei hit him on the head with his own lunch box. "No!" She settled down, sinking her head in her arms. "I'm just really worried. I haven't really talked about this with anybody but I can't stop thinking about… Kari and the Dark Ocean."
This caught JP's attention. "What do you mean?"
"She told me that she's been having nightmares about that place again and I wish I knew how to keep her away from but nothing seems plausible," Yolei admitted. "I can't just stand over her and watch her every move. She'll still be taken away if those 'Scubamon' want her badly enough. There's no way that I'd be able to protect her and I'm afraid that the next time she goes to the Dark Ocean, something horrible could happen."
JP sympathized with the other Chosen Child. She's always come off as rough around the edges but to see her concern for her DNA evolution partner really struck a chord in JP. The two girls were teammates and best friends, after all.
"She'll be fine," JP promised. "Even if she's taken, there's so many of us to help bring her back."
"Yeah… I know," Yolei nodded. "I'm sorry… I just needed to talk about this other than with someone from my group. I guess I just needed some verbal confirmation that I can count on everyone else aside from the ones I've always been with."
"Don't worry… Kari will be protected," JP nodded before adding as an afterthought. "Everyone will be protected by everyone else. That's one thing I can promise for sure."
Yolei smiled. "It's good to have friends you can count on in a pinch."
"Yeah… It really is."
December 9: Hypnos Meeting Room – 12:30 PM
Three months had passed since Marcus returned and gathered every DigiDestined group together aside from the Hunters. Now, they had convened in this one meeting room, two representatives from each team to talk about their future plans concerning the Digital World. It seemed that they all wanted to go to the Digital World as soon as the scientists were done with the portal, but obviously, if they all went, they'd leave Japan defenseless.
From the original team, Tai and Davis were their representatives. From the Tamers, Takato and Henry took the time out of their schedule to meet with them. For the Warriors, Takuya and Kouji thought it would be best for them to be there. Marcus and Keenan were representing DATS and finally, Taiki and Tagiru were there for the whole of the Hunters and the United Xros Heart Army.
Keenan glanced at the TV screen in the corner that showed the security footage of what was happening outside. People were rioting and shouting at Hypnos to find a way to exterminate the Digimon and even claiming that they were forcing children into dangerous situations.
He was snapped back into the discussion when his fellow representative spoke up.
"I think it would be best for all of the adults, out of school, to go into the Digital World," Marcus stated, trying to convince them all. "You guys need to keep up with your education! Just because I didn't finish school doesn't mean you guys should follow my example."
"We don't plan on it," Kouji scoffed. "But if the Digital World is in danger, then the Legendary Warriors have to go!"
Takuya nodded in agreement. "We're connected to the Digital World in a way that you guys aren't. We can't just sit back and wait for something to happen!"
"Even so, Thomas, Yoshino, and I all have partners who are more than capable of taking down super powerful Digimon," Marcus continued. "We'd be the best options if we want humans to get in there and then come out alive!"
"You're forgetting that the Digital World is incredibly dangerous, especially our portion of it," Henry reminded them all. "As Marcus told us, Digimon have yet to adapt properly so it's possible that they've all adjusted to the law of the wild. Even though we all know that Digimon can be reborn, I think it would be best for those of us who are used to destroying Digimon to go."
"Exactly," Marcus nodded before shaking his head. "Wait, no! The Tamers can't go!"
"But Zhuqiaomon's section is incredibly dangerous and we're the best options for navigating through it," Takato argued.
Tagiru slammed his hands on the table to stop the chatter for a moment so that he had the attention of the room. "I think that I should definitely go! I've never been to the Digital World and I plan on going! None of you are going to stop me!"
All the other representatives aside from Taiki replied in unison. "Denied."
"This isn't supposed to be some leisure vacation," Taiki suddenly huffed. "This is a serious mission and I think it would be best if you stay here." He turned his attention to the group. "But Shoutmon and I have already talked and we are definitely going."
Shoutmon suddenly appeared next to his partner. "Yeah! I am the king of my sector of the Digital World, if there's a war going on; then I need to be there in order to protect my loyal subjects! Do you really think I'm going to sit back and watch?"
Everyone started talking at once and it was hard for them to discern what everyone was trying to say. Tai was able to make out that Tagiru was saying how much he wanted to see the Digital World since he never saw any version of it. Marcus was claiming how the younger Chosen Children should stay behind. Takuya persisted that the Legendary Warriors had to go no matter what. Suddenly, Davis hollered at all of them to shut up and they did.
Davis was standing now, looking at everyone. "I talked to my team before coming here, as I'm sure that all of you have as well. We all know how our teammates feel and chances are, we all want to go to the Digital World. However, I think that the best course of action is for my team to go when the gate is complete."
Tai suddenly stood up now. "What are you saying? Marcus was right when he said that you need to stay in school. Time moves the same in both worlds now, if you were to go, you could miss out on months of classes! You can't just risk that!"
"I don't care!" Davis snapped. "Just hear out my explanation. The Digital World is dangerous, but the firewall between the worlds is depleting at an alarming rate. Soon enough, the Demon Lords are going to get through and attack. We had so much trouble with Armageddemon, one of their lackeys, and chances are, they're more likely to attack the human world because they've already conquered most of the Digital World."
Henry knew exactly where the other boy was going with this now. "The younger kids will go, the older ones will stay. It also makes sense because the Digital World can repair itself after destruction but our world suffers the loss of human lives permanently."
"That's crazy!" Tai shouted as he turned to the successor of his crest. "Davis, I know you feel this responsibility but you're acting way too recklessly."
Davis suddenly reached into the inside of his jacket in the way secret agents do in the movie when they're reaching for a hidden gun, but instead of a firearm, he revealed to have hidden goggles in his jacket, the ones Tai gave him on his first day in the Digital World. "Do you remember these?"
Tai stared at them for a long time. "You kept them?"
"Of course, the guy I admired so much gave them to me," Davis stated firmly. Everyone had their eyes glued to the scene unfolding before them. "On the day you gave me these goggles, you told me that I was fit to be a leader and giving me these told me that you trusted me to make the right decisions, no matter how stupid they may seem at first. Cody and Yolei both feel like they can't help much but they both think they'll be able to become stronger in the Digital World. TK, Kari, Ken, and I all feel like we should go back and save it because Daemon is one of the Demon Lords. We fought him and we lost. But we don't plan on giving up on defeating him."
Tagiru stared at the goggles, knowing that they were the ones passed down from one Chosen leader to another. The same thing had happened to him, he received Taiki's goggles but something felt different compared to Davis. When he had received the goggles, they only gave him confidence in that one crazy moment fighting Quartzmon. Did that show he was capable? That his at-first stupid decisions were the right ones?
Not really. In his time as a Hunter, he had made hundreds of reckless mistakes and most of the battles he had won were only because he had help from experienced Hunters like Yuu or Taiki. The few battles he did win on his own were solely dependent on Gumdramon's capabilities rather than his own.
Takato stood up now, assuming some of his own authority. "The Tamers are going too. Henry, Rika, Ryo, Jeri, Suzie, Kazu, Kenta, and I are all going. We know the dangers of Zhuqiaomon's world and we all know that we're the most capable in helping out in the Digital World."
Takuya did the same, eyeing Marcus and silently daring him to challenge the Warrior. "So are the Warriors! We are literally feeling a scorching pain when we know that something terrible is happening in the Digital World. Besides, we'll just catch up on our work or even surrender our summers to catch up."
Taiki hesitated, wondering if he should stand up and he glanced over to Tagiru who stared back.
"Tagiru?" Taiki blinked.
"I heard you talking to the other Generals," Tagiru sighed. "Go… I'll stay behind. I'm not ready to go to the Digital World yet."
Taiki paused, a little surprised by this sudden act of maturity before standing up. "Kiriha, Nene, Yuu, and I all plan on going as well… The Hunters will stay behind to protect this world since there is always a chance that you'll need someone who is capable of going into the DigiQuartz."
They all waited patiently for Tai or Marcus to say something to stop them from going to the Digital World. They even waited for Yamaki or Samson to make an abrupt argument as to why they should stay in school. None of that happened. Instead, Marcus just grinned and stood up.
"Fine," Marcus relented. "Personally, I want to go but you guys keep insisting and if I joined you, we'd deplete our power sources left here. So it'd be best for me to stay. However… I will ask that you take Keenan and Kristy with you guys."
Keenan suddenly looked up at the older boy. "Wait, what?! I know I asked to go, but Kristy has never been to the Digital World before! It's way too dangerous for her!"
"She's bound to go at some point," Marcus sighed. "Besides, she already pleaded with me to let her go. Not for adventure's sake but because she genuinely cares about the Digital World despite never having gone and she wants to protect it. I could see that fire burning in her eyes, the same one that both me and dad had. I'm not going to stop her if she really insists on going."
Keenan's shoulders slumped as he took this in. "I guess… Well, at least Relena isn't coming…"
It seemed that they had come to a definitive conclusion by now. The younger kids, aside from the young Hunters, would venture into the Digital World when the gate became available to them and then they will search for the Demon Lords and snuff them out, only after gathering some strong allies at first, of course. That would include freeing the Sovereigns from whatever bounds they had and the Celestial trio. But the main idea was to free the Digital World, not to go on a suicide mission of fighting the bad guys.
Before the meeting could be adjourned, the doors suddenly swung open and a small, old man entered with a nasty expression as he gazed upon all of them. He stopped in front of Samson who seemed absolutely stunned that the man was there.
Marcus groaned. "Not this guy again."
"You know him?" Takuya whispered.
Yushima sighed exasperatedly, catching their attention. "Director Hashima, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Hokkaido, bossing around some other poor souls? Or are we a special group of unlucky subordinates?"
Marcus and Keenan snickered as Hashima glared at the older man. The two of them never did get along despite one being in a superior position to the other.
"My apologies but I must ask… What are you doing here Director?" Samson inquired politely.
Hashima returned to his original intention. "Commander Samson, I intend on relieving you of your duties."
"What?!" Marcus snapped, voicing out what everyone else was thinking.
"I overheard you agree with this preposterous plan of sending high school students to the Digital World on a suicidal quest to save dangerous monsters," Hashima continued, ignoring the glares he received from the Chosen Children and their partners. "You plan on endangering Japan's youth for a world that should mean nothing to us."
"That world means so much more to us than you'll ever know!" Takuya shouted.
"That's right!" Shoutmon added, knowing that his word probably meant nothing to the man.
Hashima took one second to look over the Digimon and took note of how Guilmon was growling at him, how Terriermon's fur bristled when his scowl met his glare, how Agumon's teeth allowed flames to seep through as he tried to hold himself back, and how DemiVeemon was trying, but failing, to look intimidating in his adorable body.
"Not to mention the fact that they are all supposed to be continuing their studies so that they can continue into the world as upstanding members of society," Hashima grinned triumphantly. He was so confident that he would come out on top of this verbal battle. "So, as the highest authority of DATS, I command that all of the Digimon here be caged up until their 'partners' are of an old enough age to be issued as official members of DATS."
"You can't do that!" Agumon gasped.
"We may be monsters but we're no different from humans!" DemiVeemon growled.
"You know your cuteness doesn't help your intimidation," Terriermon commented.
"Like you have much room to talk," Henry sighed. He glanced over to Yamaki who got the unspoken message and stepped forward.
"Excuse me, Director Hashima," Yamaki smiled politely. But the Tamers knew that behind that smile hid the intent to kill.
"Huh?" Hashima grunted as he looked over to the other man. "What do you want?"
"I am Director Mitsuo Yamaki of Hypnos, the other digital anomaly prevention organization in Japan," Yamaki greeted. "If I may be so bold, I would just like to inform you that you have absolutely no jurisdiction here, especially when it comes to ordering around these kids. You see, they are under my official orders so long as I am the highest authority of Hypnos. Personally, I don't remember any of them agreeing to anything as a member of DATS."
Hashima blinked twice, suddenly realizing that he had been backed into a precarious corner.
"Personally, I think of myself as a Hypnos member if anything," Henry smiled, taking a note from Ryo's acting book. "If Yamaki would like us to stay out of this mission, I may consider it because he would technically be my superior as opposed to you, who I don't recall ever even saying my name to. I don't think you have any authority here, do you?"
Hashima took a step back after getting struck by such bold words, especially by a teenager. "W-Well… Marcus and the others are still under my jurisdiction."
"I don't remember agreeing to rejoin DATS when I came back," Marcus scoffed.
Keenan nodded. "Thomas never asked to be reinstated as a member either and I never was a member in the first place."
Falcomon took a step forward. "And I'm sure if we explain to Yoshino and the others what just happened here, they'll just quit."
"Now… What was it that you actually wanted here, Director Hashima?" Yushima asked, tilting his head to the side as if he was really curious to know.
Hashima took a moment to pause as he looked to everyone in the room who was glaring back at him, waiting for his next move. Even the two suited men he had come with seemed ready to make a break for the door. His eyes lingered on the two Legendary Warriors there before he turned and left the room.
"What was that about?" Kouji questioned.
"He's just a massive prick about everything," Marcus huffed.
Kouji shook his head. "No, I mean, why was he staring so intently on me and Takuya?"
Tai had the answer to this one. "He knows that you two are different from the rest of us and I have a feeling that he intends on studying you guys on that crucial difference. Like you guys said, there are people out there who probably want to probe and dissect you guys."
Takuya shuddered. "Hopefully, that creep won't have a chance to do that."
Samson seemed to have relaxed now that his superior was gone but it wasn't completely over as he may still be removed as commander of DATS. He had planned on retiring because he had felt that things were getting too tough for him to handle despite not being too old. In the past, he had made so many errors in judgment, so many mistakes, and just now, he couldn't even talk his way out for the DigiDestined without having Yamaki stand in for him.
Currently, added into his job description is articulation especially with Digimon as public knowledge in which he would have to take questions and possibly stay active with PR stunts. Not to mention, being able to talk his way out of dissenters and obnoxious superiors like Hashima.
But more than anything, he was tired of the constant danger, he would much rather find a different job for himself, one where he could relax a little more.
He didn't feel right in the position anymore. He wanted a successor.
-X-
Everything is starting to change in the human world… Rika is about to meet her dad for the first time in a long while. Kari is worrying over the Dark Ocean, Takuya and Yutaka have finally learned to get along, and Hashima wants to cut up the Legendary Warriors. Things ranging from personal problems to the fate of both worlds are going to have a clash and we'll just have to see which is solved first in the next Digimon: Children of the Present!
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter which I know was another quick update. It would've been sooner but I've been editing the earlier chapters of this story to improve this story. Well, I've got to go now but tell me what you thought in the form of a review! See you later!